One of the major casualties of hydrocarbon oil spills is the resident and migrating populations of birds, mammals, and shellfish that come in contact with and swallow the oil. Marine birds, especially diving birds, appear to be the most vulnerable of the living creatures to the effects of oil spillage. Harm to birds from contact with oil is reported to be a result of breakdown of the natural insulating oils and waxes that shield the birds from water, as well as due to plumage damage and ingestion of oil.
Efforts to cleanse or rehabilitate birds or other wildlife have been generally unsuccessful because of the excessive stress that the animal experiences. If the initiation of treatment is prolonged for any reason, most, if not all, of the animals will die. Prior to attempting treatment, however, the oil-soaked animals must be removed from the immediate danger of exposure to the elements. Most marine birds, for instance, will float offshore until they die of the extreme cold, or drown. Often, as was witnessed in Prince Williams Sound during the Exxon Valdez disaster, hundreds, if not thousands, of oil-soaked animals died before rescuers had a chance to even pull them from the water. Even if animals are reached in time, many die after the trauma of the rescue and clean-up operation.
The state-of-the-art method for capturing birds and other animals either on the ground or floating offshore is to first deploy fishing nets over the animals to confine them. The fishing nets are either thrown by hand or shot from net guns over the birds. Deploying the nets can be extremely difficult in rough seas or over difficult terrains on land. So called "mist nets" are sometimes set up on land to trap oil-soaked animals that walk directly into the mist nets. Unfortunately, these mist nets are not suitable for large oily birds.
After the animals are captured, they are placed manually in boxes and transported to a cleanup center. Traditional cleanup of contaminated wildlife is very slow and laborious. It usually employs the use of soapy liquids (external) for the oil contacted externally and stomach pump devices (internal) for the swallowed oil. One can readily appreciate the dangers to the affected animals caused by the stress of the rescue operation itself. In fact, the best chance of survival for an affected animal is often to place it in a dark and warm place, which is impossible, given the sometimes overwhelming demand on the clean-up crews.